Bobcats Back On Top In National Polls After Receiving No. 1 Seed For NCAA Tournament

The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team retained its top rank in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and also returned to the top spot in the USCHO.com Poll a day after the Bobcats were announced as the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Quinnipiac was voted out of the top spot in the USCHO.com poll on Mar. 18, but returned to the No. 1 ranking after receiving 26 of the 50 first-place votes. In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, Quinnipiac sits in the No. 1 spot for the seventh straight week, tied with Minnesota, as both teams received 473 votes, with Quinnipiac grabbing 16 of the 34f first-place votes.

Quinnipiac will head into the East Regional in Providence, R.I., where they'll face regional fourth-seed Canisius, with a record of 27-7-5. The Bobcats also feature the nation's top defensive unit, allowing just 1.52 goals per game, and the top penalty kill at 91.0%. Last week, head coach Rand Pecknold was named the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year while senior goalie Eric Hartzell was named ECAC Hockey's Player and Goaltender of the Year, while also receiving First Team honors. Hartzell was also announced as a Top-10 Finalist for the presitigous Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Zach Davies and Jeremy Langlois were both named to the Third Team, with Davies winning the Best Defensive Defenseman Honor.